vision111

[eternal oak]

Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

Pro tip: you can rename the thread title with `.tr <thread name>`

Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

[quasi river]

you can't really look at "s'étaient" by itself.

"s'étaient effondrés" is the third person plural conjugation of the verb "s'effondrer" in the plus-que-parfait tense.

the verb "s'effondrer" means "to collapse".

The plus-que-parfait tense expresses the same meaning as the pluperfect tense in English, so "les bords s'étaient effondrés" means "the edges had collapsed".

[barren steppe]

Also, two words: Word and Reference.